IS NOW THE TIME TO BUY?

ROPERTY prices aren't rising in the Model County, but after years of decline, the market is relatively stable. In some areas there are shortages, with auctioneers saying the market is delicately balanced between supply and demand.

ROPERTY prices aren't rising in the Model County, but after years of decline, the market is relatively stable. In some areas there are shortages, with auctioneers saying the market is delicately balanced between supply and demand.

However, tighter mortgage rules mean that most of the sales being transacted are cash purchases. Another factor is the migration of young people to hoped-for greener pastures, which means there is a shortage of first-time buyers.

And many of these selling are not trading up, and are either getting out or trading town.

Given its proximity to the UK, and the good value Wexford property provides, there has been a large increase in buyers from England, many of them retirees heading home.

Most auctioneers predict single-digit growth in county property prices over the next few years and a gradual return of the market, but not to anything like the madness of the mid-2000s.